Just do it. Go ahead and get a good quality 24. I really like my KH24. I can always find a way to fit it in with luggage or camping gear even when the car is full. Still fun to walk the dog(s) or go slow with those walking.
And I must not do serious muni because I still find the KH24 more fun to ride my trails be it a little slower. I’ve without any hesitancy changed off stuff on my KH24 sliding and simi-controlled skidding down slopes others bypass. Not that I think you’ll find much in that caliber in your home neighborhood.
My most enjoyable combination is a KH24 Schlumpf. In my opinion, steep downhills were put on this earth by design for the KH 24” Schlumpf in high gear! If anyone doesn’t agree with me I venture to say they haven’t tried it yet.
And if you don’t like you 24 after trying one. Who real cares. It will find a spot to in your pile beside Woody and Buzz awaiting another day.
All the things we’re told we need these days, but it was just as much fun back then.
I still enjoy the odd ride on my skinny 700c because it makes an easy trail challenging.
And I remember happy times scooting about like a lunatic on a skinny 24 with silly short cranks.
I sometimes think unicycling has got too serious.
On the tyre pressure thing, I seem to be very much in a minority. I keep trying these low pressures (20 – 30 psi) on my muni every so often and don’t really like it. I probably lose out on being able to drop off things without being catapulted into orbit, but I just like a wheel that rolls. Then again, I’m mainly riding mixed surfaces of road, gravel, mud and grass, rather than rocks because that’s all we have.
I read the discussion with great interest as I’m also considering buying a 24” Muni.
However my situation is a bit different from the Topic Starter.
I currently own “only” 4 unicles:
Two 20” QA-AX Luxus (after buying the first one I soon got a second one as I was learning together with my 2 daughters)
One 27.5” QA-AX Muni, no brake
One 20” QA-AX Trials / Muni (initially borrowed, later bought, for my adventurous youngest daughter to join in the Muni practice))
I like my 27.5" Muni a lot for riding off-road but when going downhill I struggle when it becomes steeper.
For me one revolution of the 27.5” feels like covering way too much distance.
I would like to have more control going downhill and figured a 24” Muni could offer me this.
And it may also help for the steeper uphills.
Another thing I considered for my particular case: I have my Muni daughter to share it with.
This way she can progress to a larger wheel.
In practice sessions on challenging terrain my daughter could use the 20” when I ride the 24”
On less challenging terrain my daughter could use the 24” when I ride the 27.5”
And a final thing I was considering:
If I buy the 24” QA-Ax muni version with brake I could eventually move the brake to the 27.5” to help for steeper sections.
What are your thoughts?
PS: my daughter on the 20" Muni about one year ago.
She has only gotten better since so it seems to me the 24" is never lost.
As I mentioned earlier on this thread I was in a similar situation than yourself (but already having a 26 rather than a 27.5) and I bought a 24 to improve my skills. I still have both (24 and 26) and I use one or the other depending on which type of Muni/Unicycling I’m doing that particular day
Get the 24 for your daughter. It has way better roll over capability than the 20 (19). She will enjoy it. I have a daughter as well, she is joining me on a 24 as well.
For yourself, stay on the 27,5 and get a brake. It is a great size with lots of tire choice. Ride it, you will get better also on steep stuff.
Instead of compensating some lack of skill by different material (here the 24), spend time in the woods and improve your skills. That is, at least to me, much more satisfying than a purchase of something. Enjoy that you have a hobby where you can spend time with your kid(s). That is such a great thing…
Picked up the 24" yesterday evening, unboxing tonight.
A big thumbs up for the people at QU-AX.
I alerted them on an error in the website description of the brake kit.
It was corrected instantly.
And normally they do not sell this size online (“find a dealer”) but since my dealer did not stock the brake kit they combined all into one direct order.
And got an unexpected free shipping too
Now I do hope the Magura HS33 brake kit is included in the Muni box
Please send us an update after you’ve taken a ride, Quax. Here’s an update on my feelings about my 24":
Since buying the 24", I’ve ridden it more than my 26". Recently I installed the Shadow handle on it. It took a while to get the position of the handle “dialed in”, but I think I’ve done it. Yes, the 24" is a bit slower than the 26", but both sizes ride at a speed below the threshold of what I would call fast. Same with rollover. I suppose the bigger wheel rolls over stuff better, but we’re talking about a small difference, right? I suppose rollover is a product of diameter, rotating mass and speed, so it’s an oversimplification to say that a 26" rolls over 26/24 x better than a 24". I am not a particularly studly rider, but I can say I feel less inhibited doing mildly technical stuff on the 24". Now, if I were younger and braver, maybe I would be bombing down certain landscape, in which case I’d probably benefit from the larger wheel. However, I like to take things slower, and for this the 24" is well suited to me. Another reason I like the 24" over the 26" is because my 24" is a nicer unicycle, made of stronger, lighter parts. I use a lightweight, narrow-ish tire under higher pressure. The result is a twitchy, responsive setup. I can’t say that a 24" is right for someone else, but it works for me. One thing that has been consistent in my 5 years of unicycling: Whenever I have adjusted my setup in a way that increased the firmness/responsiveness of the unicycle, then reverted to something less responsive (for eaxmple, lowering the tire pressure), I was more annoyed at my setup. Maybe that’s part of the reason I (currently) prefer my 24" over my 26".
My Schumpf is broken and needs to be sent back to Florian for service. I had it installed in a 20" wheel. That turned out to be a lot of fun, but now I want it installed in a larger wheel. I am leaning toward a G24". I have no interest in speeds faster than I can outrun. The weight penalty of the gear, mitigated by the smaller wheel size, might mean I can still ride most of the hills in my neighborhood in low gear that I can normally ride on the 26". I looked on UDC, and the only 24" frame they sell compatible with a rim brake (Schlumpf doesn’t work with a disk brake) is the Nimbus steel frame.
